Naoetsu camp
Tokyo-04-Branch Camp
NIIGATA-ken, NAKAKUBIKI-gun, ARITA-muraMap
- near current city of JOETSU

Timeline7 Dec 1942: Established; first located at NAOETSU-machi,
KOJO
(SHINETSU KAGAKU)Feb 1943: Moved to NIIGATA-ken, NAKAKUBIKI-gun, ARITA-muraJul 1944: moved-exact location in Arita unknownSep 1945: Rescue effectedSummary:Opened in
December 1942 at Naoetsu in the salt warehouse of Shin-etsu Chemical
Co. First men were some 300 Australian from Singapore. In March
of 1943, the prisoners were moved to new "temporary"
quarters in the nearby village of Arita.
In October of 1943, the camp was moved to another building from
the temporary building. It was a two-story warehouse of galvanized
iron. By spring, 60 of the men perished.Australian War Museum Notation:
C Force, including 563 Australians under Lieutenant Colonel A.
E. Robertson left Singapore on 28 November 1942. The force was
sub divided: Captain J. Paterson’s group (about 250) was
sent to Kobe Kawasaki camp, and Robertson’s (about 300)
went to Naoetsu camp (No. 4 Branch Tokyo Camp).

Labor:Steel Mill labor- men were
forced to run about one mile each way and were regularly beaten
by guards during this time.

War Crimes:
More guards (15) were tried and executed (8) than any other POW
Camp in Japan. Mutsuhiro Watanabe, aka "The Bird" aka "Mr. Brown," was one of the notorious guards at Naoetsu (see the book Unbroken below). Some important archival documents regarding POW Louis Zamperini:

Rosters:
300 Australians in this camp, of whom 60 perished. Some
50+ Americans- ex Wake and China arrived 16 May 1945. Full
known roster--- more details of Americans in email
from Mr John Powers of the China Marines.Roster of men transferred from Osaka #13Rosters for Tokyo #4 and #5
(RG 407 Box 115) - Roster of Troops, Tokyo POW Camp, 1945; Rosters of
American and British POWs leaving Tokyo Camp. Rosters of sick Dutch,
American, British, Australian and New Zealander POWs in Morioka Army
Hospital.
Extracts from the Diary of Don
Fraser (deceased) of the Australian 8th Division Signals.
Story by Peter Winstanley, noted Australian historian and researcher
of POW history.Japanese Staff
PendingBooks

Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand - story of Louis Zamperini, who spent the final
months of his captivity in Japan at Naoetsu, from Mar. 1945 until
liberation in Sept. 1945. This
book is a must-read! For a more complete story of his life after conversion, read his first book, Devil At My Heels (1956), and later re-published (2003).

Wall, Don,Singapore and Beyond: The Story of the men of the 2/20
Bn A.I.F., 2/20 Battalion Association, Cowra, NSW, 2000
(revised edition of 1985 first). The story of the 2/20 Battalion
from Enlistment, through the fall of Singapore and captivity
to the end of the war.

Lyon, Alan B., Japanese War Crimes- The Trials of the Naoetsu Camp
Guards, Australian History Publications, Loftus, 2000. Trials
conducted of 14 staff and civilian guards for savage brutality. Only eight
were executed.